5 5 301 Flora ～There, my comrades carried; there, the ship departs! Infinite is the love it holds, eternal will the dreamers last!～ 1
6 6 301 Flora ～Away it sails! My hope it hails!～ 1
7 7 301 Flora ～Farewell, my friends, my family...～ 1
8 8 301 Flora ～Elysium-bound you will be, in the future days when you are free.～ 1
9 9 202 1 1
10 10 301 Flora sits on the floor, holding out a hand toward Selena.
11 11 301 An invitation to dance, this the same gesture the protagonist does before the curtain call.
12 12 301 Flora holds on to her pose for a very long time, her expression not shifting a bit.
13 13 301 Does she not want the show to end? Selena wonders, thinking that there must be a stubbornness inside this girl that carries her across a barren desert to these ruins, performing over and over despite the pain from the infection.
14 14 301 Selena must protect a heart so frail and resilient.
15 15 301 Thinking that, Selena performs the same gesture, and the two of them stand still.
16 16 301 Standing... still...
17 17 201 1 500433 8
18 18 301 1 Flora Aargh... My arm is getting sore! Why aren't we bowing? 1
19 19 301 Flora's quiet complaint makes Selena realizes that Flora is not demonstrating her stubbornness. She simply thinks that all actors cannot move before the final bow.
20 20 201 1 500430 2
21 21 301 1 Selena ...Right. This is the end of "The Acadia Evacuation". Thank you for watching. 1
22 22 202 1 1
23 23 301 Selena mimics the motion of pulling the curtain down. Flora's tense body relaxes as the imaginary curtains fall, and her somber expression turns into joy.
24 24 201 1 500433 2
25 25 301 1 Flora Whoa... that was great! So great! I know I missed a lot of lines, but it felt so wonderful to perform a full act! 1
26 26 301 Flora Thank you, Miss! You're my first audience! 1
27 27 301 Flora I have to... offer you... my gratitude. This way, Mom would... 1
28 28 202 1 1
29 29 301 Her voice suddenly dwindles, and her young body falls. Selena manages to catch her before she faints and falls to the ground.
30 30 301 Disordered breaths, signs of infection, hunger, and cold—all of them take their toll the moment the performance is completed.
31 31 301 Selena manages to inject Flora with a serum in time, giving the girl water with her waterskin.
32 32 201 1 500433 8 -350
33 33 201 2 500430 4 350
34 34 301 1 Flora Hah... Ugh... 1
35 35 301 Selena Flora... you need to rest. 2
36 36 301 Flora Y-yes... I can rest now... 1
37 37 301 Her voice is weak but still joyous.
38 38 301 Flora T-then, Miss... c-can you tell me... how you feel... about our performance together? 1
39 39 204 2 2
40 40 301 Selena Of course... Your performance was perfect. Thank you for doing it. 2
41 41 301 Flora Really... That's great. Do you think Mom will... feel better... after she sees it... 1
42 42 301 A child can be more stubborn than an adult sometimes.
43 43 301 Selena was ready for this small, unyielding spirit.
44 44 301 Selena ...Actually, there is more to this story... Do you want to know how it truly ends? 2
45 45 202 1 2 1
46 46 301 Hearing about an ending to the story, Flora's dull eyes glisten again. Her trembling lips have not even opened, and Selena knows what her answer will be.
47 47 301 Selena supports Flora's body with one hand and opens her terminal with another.
48 48 301 Quietly she tells Flora a story the way she did with the children in the conservation area.
49 49 301 The real ending of "The Acadia Evacuation".
50 50 301 This ending does not change any prior plot, but it completely alters the theme of the opera.
51 51 301 The dying soldier who stayed on the surface gave the ones departing for Babylonia his blessings.
52 52 301 With unregretful death and sacrifice, as well as hope for the future, he died as the opera ended.
53 53 301 —But that was just the fantasy of those who lived.
54 54 301 The people from Babylonia were praising how noble the soldiers' sacrifices were—until they received the dying soldiers' messages, revealing how painful and regretful the soldiers felt.
55 55 301 And these feelings spread to those who saw the messages.
56 56 301 Regrets and shame flooded their hearts, followed by indifference—a way to protect themselves.
57 57 201 1 500433 -350
58 58 201 2 500430 4 350
59 59 301 1 Selena ...That is it. 2
60 60 301 Flora That's... the real ending? 1
61 61 301 Flora mumbles, voicing her first thought. She has recovered much with the serum and water, but she is still leaning in Selena's arm.
62 62 301 Flora But... but why? 1
63 63 301 Flora I don't get it... I don't understand why the writer would think that way... 1
64 64 301 Flora Miss... Do you know? Can you tell me? 1
65 65 301 Selena ...Of course. 2
66 66 301 Selena Perhaps she didn't think clearly when she published the first version of the opera... Perhaps she has been through something else that changed her mind, and she gave the story a new ending. 2
67 67 301 Regardless of the plot, an author's intent will always reveal itself in the ending.
68 68 301 A line from the ending can elevate the story, or it can make the story lingers.
69 69 301 Of course an ending can also overturn it.
70 70 301 Selena Legends and spirits are such wonderful things, but not everyone can place them above their lives. 2
71 71 301 Selena The heroic sacrifice might not be the end. The hero might have cried, cursed, or regretted his choice. 2
72 72 301 Selena After all... the story is not the whole truth. 2
73 73 301 Flora Okay... 1
74 74 204 1 8
75 75 301 Flora closes her eyes. She seems to be thinking, or perhaps she is simply too tired, about to fall asleep.
76 76 301 Regardless, Selena has to take her away now. Right as Selena is about to lift her up, however, she jumps from Selena's arms and stands.
79 79 301 Flora crouches, still trembling, picking up the paper booklet on the floor. Those are the creased pages of "The Acadia Evacuation", most likely left behind by her father.
80 80 201 1 500433
81 81 301 1 Flora The people who stayed behind would feel regretful and hateful... Hmm, that's possible. That makes sense... but still... 1
82 82 202 1 1
83 83 301 She writes down a few lines on the crumpled paper, turning what Selena said into dialogues.
84 84 301 And then she adds a few more lines.
85 85 301 Flora works fast. She started with words, but now she is filling the pages with child-like drawings and weird symbols—probably a secret language the girl invented.
86 86 301 Writing and drawing, she eventually holds up her script and narrates another new ending after the new ending she just heard.
87 87 301 —The grandeur of the sacrificed is just the fantasy of those who lived.
88 88 301 The people from Babylonia were praising how noble the soldiers' sacrifices were—until they received the dying soldiers' messages, revealing how painful and regretful the soldiers felt.
89 89 301 But the people up there do not ignore this pain.
90 90 301 They remember their laments and turn that into the fuel that drives them forward.
91 91 301 One after another, squads are sent to the surface from above.
92 92 301 When the day of peace and liberation arrives, the returned stand before the soldier's grave, giving him the funeral he deserves. And they say—
93 93 201 1 500433
94 94 301 1 Flora —"Farewell, my friends, my family..." 1
95 95 301 Flora —"Elysium-bound you will be, in the future days when you are free." 1
96 96 401 1 204
97 97 301 Flora Right. Right! That's how it should be. 1
98 98 301 Flora The people who got sent away will one day understand why the soldier sacrificed himself. They were fighting for the same cause, so that's now the ending should be. 1
99 99 301 The child, just recovered, opens up the script with her shaking hands, unveiling the new ending to Selena. Selena, meanwhile, is taken aback.
100 100 201 1 500430
101 101 301 1 Selena Is that... the ending you think will come true? 1
102 102 201 1 500433
103 103 301 1 Flora Come true? No... I don't think it is. 1
104 104 301 Flora I think... it's the ending that would move me... that would move Dad. 1
105 105 301 Flora I know how the writer felt, but I get to decide how I interpret it. I just think that... even with part of the ending dismissed, there must be more to it when the sacrifice was written so majestically. 1
106 106 301 Flora The stories before the ending made me feel that despite feeling powerless and hurt, the moment they stepped onto the battlefield, the people who sacrificed themselves had received courage... and hope. 1
107 107 301 Flora Passing on this courage and hope was why the writer wrote this opera in the first place. Isn't that enough to understand this? The truth... might be too complicated. The writer might not understand everything when she wrote it. 1
108 108 301 Flora Prospero, Iris, magic... None of them are real, and I don't know why their writer wrote them this way. But they were... nice. They were nice... 1
109 109 301 Flora Isn't... that enough? 1
110 110 202 1 1
111 111 301 Instead of an answer, Flora receives a hug.
112 112 301 Selena embraces her tightly.
113 113 201 1 500430 2
114 114 301 1 Selena You're right... That was very well said... 1
115 115 301 They are so close that Selena can hear Flora's heart beating in her chest.
116 116 301 The same heartbeats as Selena's.
117 117 301 Selena Thank you... 1
118 118 201 1 500433
119 119 301 1 Flora Hmph? Why are you thanking me...? 1
120 120 202 1 1
121 121 301 Once again, Selena does not answer, only holding Flora even tighter.
122 122 301 —Thank you for rebutting me and reflecting sincerely. I knew you could do it.
123 123 301 —Thank you for saying what I couldn't say. Those words would be too powerless if they came from me.
124 124 201 1 500430 2
125 125 301 1 Selena Your ideas will be carried into your work... One day, they will also move someone else. 1
126 126 301 Selena And that's enough. Lost or hurt, this pureness of yours will guide you and guard you. Even when facing adversity... you will outlast the storm. 1
127 127 301 Selena If this war ends one day... you will become an artist with admirable pursuit... 1
128 128 301 Selena I believe... you can do it... 1
131 131 301 Flora What you said makes me believe that I... will bring Mom comfort. 1
132 132 202 1 1
133 133 301 Hazy as she may be, Flora sits up and answers Selena.
134 134 201 1 500428
135 135 301 1 Pieter (Chuckles) 1
136 136 301 Pieter watches from afar. He is supposed to take Flora back by now. Even with the serum, it is not a good idea for a child to stay somewhere with a low concentration of the Punishing Virus.
137 137 301 Instead, he just stays away from the stay, watching the two girls holding each other.
138 138 301 Selena does not notice this one audience. She keeps hugging Flora, hoping to send the girl her thoughts through her embrace.
139 139 301 Suddenly, Flora looks up and sulks, speaking in a purposefully accusatory tone.
140 140 201 1 500433
141 141 301 1 Flora Hold on—hold on! I have to correct you on something, Miss. My dad wouldn't have cried before he died! 1
142 142 301 Flora "Imagination and the freedom it offers, I hope it takes you beyond the ferryman's river." 1
143 143 301 Flora "Elysium-bound you will be, in the future days when you are free." 1
144 144 301 Flora That's Dad's favorite line... I'm sure he would have left behind this blessing as his last words... I'm sure of it! 1
145 145 202 1 1
146 146 201 1 500428
147 147 301 1 Pieter ... 1
148 148 301 Pieter This line... 1
149 149 301 Pieter takes out his terminal.
150 150 301 In the message he received, there is a string of jumbled code after the coordinates. Jumbled, however, does not mean unsolvable. Recovering data is a skill every soldier knows.
151 151 301 But Pieter did not do it.
152 152 301 When he saw those words, that gaze of death seemed to haunt him once again.
153 153 301 He refused to look it in the eye.
154 154 301 But now, he operates on his terminal, untangling and revealing those jumbled words once more.
155 155 301 —"Imagination and the freedom it offers, I hope it takes you beyond the ferryman's river."
156 156 301 —"Elysium-bound you will be, in the future days when you are free."
157 157 204 1 14
158 158 301 Pieter How could this be... 1
159 159 301 Pieter So... a backbone before you died, huh...? 1
160 160 301 Pieter Did my words really... move you that much... 1
161 161 202 1 1
162 162 301 The rookie who joined the army because of a momentary urge never forgot about the sentiments that drove him even in the face of death. In pain, he chose to pass this aspiration to his comrade.
163 163 301 But the rookie did not know that his comrade was the one who seeded this aspiration in his opera in the first place.
164 164 301 And now, years later—across time—it has returned to the hands of its author.
165 165 301 Putting down his terminal, Pieter lets out a few gravelly chuckles.
166 166 301 He looks up at the hugging girls on the stage.
167 167 301 He sees two flowers blossoming.
168 168 301 Art is their name, the soul their soil. Two flowers have sprouted after being moved.
169 169 301 That feeling was passed down from that great composer. Through his hands, it has spread throughout time.
170 170 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Not everything is perfect, nor is the journey smooth sailing, but that flower is growing from his legacy. Now, it blooms on the battlefield, the sky city, and the crumbling stage before him, speaking the same line he said in haste in the past.
171 171 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Pieter Ha... how nice.
172 172 504 0.7
173 173 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Pieter "Farewell, my friends, my family..."
174 174 301 Pieter "Imagination and the freedom it offers, I hope it takes you beyond the ferryman's river."
175 175 301 Pieter "Elysium-bound you will be, in the future days when you are free."
176 176 301 Pieter That's the end of "A Hero's Farewell". Thank you for watching.
177 177 301 —What a great story, papa! Can I be someone like you when I grow up?
178 178 301 —Opera composer? I... don't really get it, but if a composer will tell good stories like you do, then I'll go do that!
179 179 301 —I also have a lot of songs I want to sing and a lot of stories I want to tell! I hope my stories will also make people jump up and down like I would!
180 180 301 —Are you leaving already, papa?
181 181 301 —Then tell me the rest of the story after you come back! Promise me!
